


nothing burns like the cold.

by noteworthynote



Series: boy wonder; peter parker [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Medical Inaccuracies, Science Inaccuracies, Tony Stark Has A Heart, bruce isn’t that kind of doctor but today he is, ish?? maybe, listen i’m a nurse in training not an actual nurse forgive me, not a huge fan of the tony peter father son thing but take this however you want, peters spider dna sucks but it’s fine we’re fine, thermoregulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:53:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16322201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noteworthynote/pseuds/noteworthynote
Summary: in which peter parker’s spider DNA and the new york winter don’t mix well.





	nothing burns like the cold.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this isn’t supergirl i lost motivation to write for that when they sent winn away! i might write for it soon but who knows. anyways!! i’m so dumb, the science and stuff is probably wrong, i wrote this in july and just decided to finish it instead of reading for my quiz tomorrow. pray for me. this is my first published fic for peter parker so please do enjoy and comment any suggestions!! i need to get rid of this writers block!!

It was the middle of winter in New York. Winter in the northeast meant unbearably cold temperatures, even for those who had lived there for their entire life. This included Peter Parker.

He'd lived in Queens ever since he was a child. He could never stand the cold, but the difference now is that he's part spider.

And spiders can't thermoregulate.

Even with antifreeze, their bodies can freeze once the temperature reaches negative five degrees celsius (After the bite he'd done his research. Maybe more than necessary). There are certain spiders that hibernate during the winter, uncertain if they'd wake up when spring came. Peter was sure he was bitten by one of those spiders.

Living in an apartment complex in a big city as it froze over meant that not everything worked. Today, the heat broke down. School was cancelled across the district because there was too much snow. May, however, still had to go to work.

So Peter sat alone in his bed, all of the blankets in his room wrapped around him. He wanted to wear the suit with the heater, but he knew Karen would sense that he was cold. Scratch that, _freezing._

Outside, it was currently twenty degrees fahrenheit, below his freezing rate.

He felt tired. His entire body was heavy, and his eyes were glazed over. His mind was foggy, and he couldn't form a coherent sentence. He wanted to sleep, but he knew if he did he wouldn't wake up.

His phone vibrated from inside the mound of blankets and he slowly lifted it up, feeling the weight of his arm trying to bring it down. 

"Hm?" Peter mumbled, too tired to open his mouth.

"Hey, kid! May told me you have the day off, and I sorted it with her, you can come down to the labs with me for the day. How's that sound?" It was Mr. Stark, his chipper tone hurting Peter’s ears.

"Great," He slurred in response, tongue too heavy to move more than that.

"Happy will pick you up in about half an hour, if the roads aren't too bad."

"Sounds great,” God, he was so tired. The blankets felt heavy and comforting. He didn't think he'd be ready by the time Happy came. He could barley move.

"Kid, you alright?" Mr. Stark was concerned. Peter wasn't sure if he could say what's wrong.

"Mhm. cold," His mouth gave out halfway through the second word. Maybe Mr. Stark could understand what he meant. He hoped he could.

"Oh yeah, it's definitely cold. But you can warm up once you get here, I'll make sure the heat is up for you. I gotta go now, kid," And then he hung up.

Peter let the phone fall. It stayed on his shoulder, the blankets not allowing it to go elsewhere.

By the time Happy arrived, Peter was struggling to sit upright.

"Kid, i'm coming in!" Happy shouted from the front door. he had a spare key, May made sure he and Tony did, just in case. Apparently, Happy had been waiting awhile. Peter just didn't care enough to pick up his phone. He would if he could.

"Are you in- Peter, what? Get up." He rolled his eyes at the sight of Peter bundled up in what seemed like ten blankets. The spider didn't budge.

It was then that Happy noted his glazed eyes and pale skin. He touched the his forehead, pulling back when he felt how cold Peter was. He felt like an ice cube, and he wasn't even shivering.

"Dear God, Peter, what the hell? You're freezing."

"Cold," The letters tied together in his mouth and it came out like a mumble.

"I guess I have to carry you." Happy sighed, grabbing peter underneath his legs and underneath his back. He carried him bridal style to the car.

He got Tony on the phone as soon as he sat in the drivers seat.

"Tony, the kids basically frozen."

"Excuse me?"

"He feels like an ice cube. He’s bundled in blankets and he's freezing. He's not shivering or anything!"

"Jesus Christ, Hap. Is he saying anything?"

“No, he tried but nothing coherent came out."

"Bring him to the med bay when you get here. I’ll get Banner.” 

"You got it, boss."

And so Happy brought him to the med bay. Tony and Bruce had a bed ready for him as soon as he entered the room. They were not prepared for the sight before them.

Peter was unmoving even as he was set down, blankets still bundled around him. Bruce took a thermometer to his forehead, scanning it across.

It beeped, the black lines coming to form the numbers ninety four point four.

"Peter is literally freezing. He has a temperature of ninety four point four, moderate hypothermia,” He read it aloud, watching the other two men raised their eyebrows in shock.

"Pete, hey Pete? You in there?" Tony sat down next to him, giving him a light shake on the shoulders.

Peter blinked slowly, moving his head slightly to indicate that he was still awake.

"Good, kid. Do you know what's up? At all?"

He opened his mouth, trying to form a sentence in his brain before saying it.

"Therm-" He cut himself off, feeling the word begin to tie together once more. "-oreg," it was all he could get out.

"Thermoregulate?" Bruce guessed, "blink once for yes."

Peter blinked once, albeit slowly.

"Spiders can't thermoregulate. That's why he's not shivering, and why his temperature is way below normal."

"Your spider DNA is going to be the death of me, kid,” Tont sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Is there anything we can do to fix this? Make him not frozen?"

"By the looks of it, Peter’s spider DNA came from one that hibernated during the winter. Not all spiders do it, but some do. His body is trying to shut down."

"Dear God." Tomy ran a hand over his face, visibly distressed.

"For now, I think the best we can do is keep him awake and let him warm up gradually. Too much heat at once could send him into shock. If he’s still trying to shut down once he's warm, we'll have to try something else." Bruce was attaching a pulse oximeter to Peter’s finger. He had to rub the boys finger in his own hands in order to get peter's blood flowing.

"Now we wait."

For hours, Leter struggled to keep his eyes open. He'd let them shut for a few minutes just for the feeling of relief, only to be woken up by Tony, Bruce, or FRIDAY. 

He laid on the med bay bed, still wrapped up in his blankets, staring up at the ceiling for those hours. It took a long time due to the lack of thermoregulation but, eventually, his body temperature returned to normal.

He was still groggy and tired, but he was warm and awake and no longer trying to hibernate. Tony considered it a miracle.

"Jeez, kid, gave us quite the scare there," He patted Peter’s knee, or where he assumed it was, he couldn’t exactly see under the blankets, as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"'M sorry," The spider mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "I didn't think it'd be bad."

"No thermoregulation in the dead of New York winter? Not to mention the almost hibernation, but that's pretty bad."

"Last winter wasn't so bad. I thought I'd be fine," Peter pulled the blankets tighter around him, desperate for more warmth. 

"Next time this happens, call your aunt or I right away, got it?" Tony was giving him the look, the one he'd seen in every Captain America PSA. I was the 'i'm-disappointed-in-you-but-not-really' look.

"You got it, Mr. Stark," He gave his best attempt at a smile, still getting used to being able to move properly.

Tony frowned at the use of his last name, patting Peter’s knee. "I’ll go turn the heat up a bit for you, you're stuck here for a little while longer until we're sure you're one hundred percent fine. In the meantime, call Med, he's been blowing up your phone."

Peter couldn't help but laugh, that sounded like Ned. He nodded, pulling his phone out of the pile of blankets, glad to be able to feel his fingers again.

Tony watched as his eyes lit up when he began texting his best friend, the sound of his fingers hitting the screen filling the room. He adjusted the thermostat, a hand on his hip.

God, what was he going to do with this kid?


End file.
